Chapter 5: Alibi
Chapter 5: Alibi
Su Muyu took off her shoes and walked into the bathroom, crouching on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, and began to sob uncontrollably.
Fearing that Lu Heng might hear her crying, she turned on the showerhead to mask her sobs with the sound of running water.
After experiencing so much in one night, it was a testament to her strength that she hadn't broken down mentally.
Recalling the terrifying scenes she witnessed, Su Muyu grew increasingly afraid, but she was also aware that Lu Heng's actions were all for her protection.
Otherwise, she would have been dead the moment she jumped off the rooftop.
This conflicting feeling of fear and the inability to escape made her feel torn, and she realized she craved this sense of protection.
Since childhood, she had been bullied, yet she never dared to tell anyone at home.
She had never known what it felt like to be protected until Lu Heng pulled her behind him, and she truly felt it.
It was a sense of security that she found hard to resist.
Deep down, she knew that this mix of fear, longing, and enjoyment was unhealthy, but she couldn't help it.
After hiding in the bathroom for half an hour, she finally emerged and saw Lu Heng lying on the bed with his eyes closed, unsure if he was asleep or not.
She tiptoed to the window, sat in a chair, and hugged her knees, deciding to spend the night like this.
Lu Heng wasn't asleep; he was merely resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the creak of the chair, he spoke, "You can sleep on the bed; I'll take the floor."
"No... It's fine, I'm okay like this," Su Muyu shook her head, feeling extremely tense.
"Suit yourself," Lu Heng finished, and began to fall asleep.
Su Muyu thought to herself that if Lu Heng really intended to do something, she might not resist.
Moreover, she wasn't sleepy, and as she stared out the window, her mind replayed the events from the previous night that exceeded her understanding, almost frying her CPU.
The next day.
It was 5:30 in the morning, and the sky was still dark.
Someone pounded on the door.
Lu Heng opened his eyes wide and went to answer the door.
Su Muyu, who hadn't been asleep, quickly stood up and anxiously watched the direction of the door.
The Enforcement Team knocked, and after showing their identification, they wanted to take the two of them in for questioning.
On the way to the Ningyun District Detective Bureau, Lu Heng and Su Muyu were placed in separate cars to prevent them from colluding.
Upon arriving at the bureau, the two were also separated and placed in different interrogation rooms for questioning.
Typically, female students are the best source of information and can easily provide useful details.
Therefore, the Ningyun District Inspectorate Supervisor, Shao Feipeng, decided to personally interrogate Su Muyu. To ease the suspect's tension, he also arranged for a female colleague to take notes.
Shao Feipeng: "Last night, on September 9th, at 9:45 p.m., where were you?"
Su Muyu, nervously biting her nails: "The evening self-study session ended at 9:40 p.m., so I should have just left the school gate not long ago."
Shao Feipeng: "And then?"
Su Muyu: "I met a classmate from the same school, and he pulled me into a car."
These events took place outside the school gate, and there were surveillance cameras at the school entrance, so she couldn't lie about this part.
The reason the Enforcement Team found Su Muyu so quickly was also because they had traced this surveillance footage.
Shao Feipeng: "Continue."
Su Muyu: "He said he wanted to take me to a place, but I was a bit scared and didn't want to go, so I got off the car later."
Shao Feipeng: "Where did you get off the car?"
Su Muyu: "Near Mu Jing Road."
Shao Feipeng's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt the situation wasn't as simple as he had anticipated, as there were no surveillance cameras near Mu Jing Road.
He narrowed his eyes and took out a photo of Lu Heng, holding it up and asking, "What is your relationship with this person?"
Su Muyu: "We're classmates."
Shao Feipeng: "Just classmates?"
Su Muyu pouted, her face turning a shade of shy embarrassment, as she fiddled with her clothes and muttered, "He didn't say there was anything more than that, how would I know..."
The female officer taking notes beside them couldn't help but stifle a giggle at Su Muyu's innocent and lovestruck expression.
...
After questioning Su Muyu, Shao Feipeng realized her answers were flawless, leaving no room for doubt.
Stepping out of the interrogation room, Shao Feipeng ordered someone to fetch Su Muyu's records, and upon reviewing her transcript, he saw that she consistently ranked within the top ten in her grade.
It was then that he realized the girl he had just interrogated was highly intelligent, and not the weak link he had hoped for.
With no breakthrough on the girl's side...
Shao Feipeng headed to another interrogation room to question the male suspect.
Shao Feipeng: "On September 9th, at around 9:50 PM last night, where were you?"
Lu Heng: "I was at a budget hotel."
Shao Feipeng: "And then what happened?"
Lu Heng: "I received a call from a classmate, so I rode my motorcycle to pick her up."
Shao Feipeng: "Who did you pick up?"
Lu Heng pointed to the wall on his right, "Su Muyu, she should be in the interrogation room next door, right?"
Shao Feipeng: "Where did you pick her up?"
Lu Heng: "Near Mu Jing Road, I think."
Shao Feipeng: "And then? Where did you go?"
Lu Heng: "I took her for a ride along the riverbank road and then headed back to the hotel."
Shao Feipeng: "What did you do after returning to the hotel?"
Lu Heng: "Do I have to answer that? Sir, haven't you ever rented a room with someone?"
Shao Feipeng's face darkened, and he asked, "What time did you get back to the hotel?"
Lu Heng: "Around... 11 PM, I guess. I didn't check the time."
At this point, a senior officer entered with a report and whispered into Shao Feipeng's ear:
"We checked the hotel's surveillance footage, and the time they returned to the hotel was 10:58 PM. Additionally, we found an eyewitness at the crime scene.
"A taxi driver passed by the abandoned factory and saw a fire, so he drove over to investigate. He witnessed someone setting fire to destroy evidence and a body.
"The taxi's dashcam captured the scene, and there was indeed a figure committing the crime.
"The time displayed on the dashcam was 10:55 PM. Even with a three-minute head start, it's impossible to travel from the abandoned factory to the budget hotel in that time, even by plane."
Based on the timeline, Lu Heng and Su Muyu had a perfect alibi.
However, Shao Feipeng still felt that the young man before him was suspicious.
He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Confess! Gong Chusheng is in the hospital, and he says you killed someone!"
A glint of amusement flashed in Lu Heng's eyes, but he kept his thoughts to himself: How can I answer when the body's turned to ashes?
But he couldn't say that out loud.
Lu Heng's expression changed to one of feigned surprise, and he retorted loudly, "Kill someone? I thought you guys were here to bust a prostitution ring at the hotel?"
Shao Feipeng's face darkened again, and he covered his forehead, suppressing the urge to curse.
As a detective inspector, he hadn't dealt with hotel room checks in over twenty years.
He was starting to feel a headache. This case was particularly tricky, as two of the four deceased individuals had powerful connections.
His superiors had ordered him to solve the case as soon as possible.
He had initially thought that arresting this couple would lead to a quick resolution, but the outcome was the opposite of what he had expected.
(End of Chapter)
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